2006年VOA标准英语-Japan, US Clear Last Big Hurdle for Defens

By Steve Herman
Tokyo
24 April 2006

The last major stumbling block has been cleared for the United States and Japan to initiate¹ a realignment of American forces in Japan. The breakthrough came when the two allies agreed on dividing the cost of transferring thousands of U.S. Marines from southern Japan to a U.S. island in the western Pacific.

------------------------------------------------------

U.S. Marine² Corps³ helicopters and transport planes sit on a tarmac of Futenma Marine Corps Air Station next to Okinawa residential⁴ quarters (file photo)   
  

The defense⁵ chiefs of Japan and the United States, standing⁶ alongside each other outside the Pentagon, said they had reached an agreement on sharing the cost of moving eight thousand U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam.

Japan's Defense Agency Director General Fukushiro Nukaga says Tokyo will contribute $6 billion of the total cost, which will exceed $10 billion. The Japanese share will include some loans.

Nukaga says during their meeting Sunday, the two allies agreed on all points related to moving the Marines.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says the deal will improve security for both countries.

"We have come to an understanding that we both feel is in the best interests of our countries," he says.

The agreement came after several rounds of talks failed to agree on cost sharing.

The United States had originally asked Japan to pay 75 percent of the move - about seven-and-a-half billion dollars.

The deal paves the way to finalize⁷ the overall restructuring plan for the U.S. military in Japan - something that has been in the works for more than a decade. A general agreement was reached last October but negotiators missed their goal of finalizing⁸ the plan last month.

Under the accord, the Japanese will take on a greater role for their own defense and further integrate their operations with U.S. forces in Japan as part of upgrading the relationship into an alliance beyond the Asia-Pacific region.

The plan includes moving a Marine airfield⁹ from a congested urban area on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa to a more isolated¹⁰ area. In addition several hundred U.S. Army soldiers now in the United States will transfer to a small base near Tokyo.

Secretary Rumsfeld says the realignment is the latest chapter in what he called the historic relationship between the two former World War Two enemies.

"The understandings we've come to suggest to me that it will continue as a very close and important alliance between our two countries," Rumsfeld says.

Japanese officials on Monday said they hope a final round of talks in the coming days will clear the way for Nukaga, Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro¹¹ Aso to meet and sign the pact¹² in early May.

1 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

2 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。

8 finalizing   

vt.完成（finalize的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• You may edit registered information any time during the finalizing period. 您可以在规定期限内随时编辑修改注册资料。 来自互联网
• Natsun Trimming & Ironing, Finalizing the Perfection. 40南山整烫，完美在此定格。 来自互联网

9 airfield   

n.飞机场

参考例句：

• The foreign guests were motored from the airfield to the hotel.用车把外宾从机场送到旅馆。
• The airfield was seized by enemy troops.机场被敌军占领。

10 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

11 taro   

n.芋，芋头

参考例句：

• Main grain crop has taro,corn,banana to wait.主要粮食作物有芋头、玉米、芭蕉等。
• You celebrate your birthday with taro,red bean and butter.用红豆、芋头和黄油给自己过生日。

12 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。